300, “Budapest” Are Box-Office Winners

In the first weekend of its global launch, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ “300: Rises of an Empire” nabbed nearly $133 million from 59 markets according to estimates.

In the U.S., the film beat predictions and garnered a very healthy $45.1 million domestically. 3D accounted for 63% of that total, large-format and Imax locations accounted for around 23% of it.

“300” wasn’t the only hit though. In limited release, Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” broke a record – scoring the honor of the best-ever opening per-screen average for a live-action film.

Opening in just four locations in New York and L.A, ‘Budapest’ pulled in a whopping $200,000 per screen – easily topping the $130,749 average of Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom”.

Fox and DreamWorks Animation’s family film “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” scored a robust $32.5 million domestic opening and second place, but underwhelmed overseas with just $66 million from 52 overseas markets.